U.S. Frees 'High-Value' Detainees from Iraq
20 Dec. Washington Times - U.S. Frees 'High-Value' Detainees from Iraq.
Quote:
U.S. forces yesterday flew eight newly released "high-value" Iraqi detainees out of the country aboard a special military aircraft, in a move other officials said was aimed at furthering a secret peace process with Sunni hard-line groups.
The releases, made Saturday but announced only yesterday, angered Iraqi government officials who pledged to hunt down and recapture some of the detainees, including former leaders of Saddam Hussein's government and security forces.
Among those released or about to be freed is Rihab Taha, who was dubbed "Dr. Germ" by the popular press in the West and admitted to producing germ-warfare agents. A State Department official told the Associated Press she was no longer considered a security threat.
20 Dec. Reuters - U.S. Freeing Saddam's 'Dr. Germ' and 'Mrs. Anthrax'.
Quote:
U.S. forces in Iraq are freeing "Dr Germ and "Mrs. Anthrax," two of Saddam Hussein's leading biological warfare experts, following the failure to find weapons of mass destruction, lawyers said on Monday.
The two weapons experts, British-trained microbiologist Rihab Taha and U.S.-educated genetic engineer Huda Ammash, were captured by U.S. forces in May 2003 after Saddam was ousted.
Baghdad lawyer Badia Aref said Taha and Ammash were among 26 senior detainees in the process of being released. U.S. military spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Barry Johnson said eight "high-value detainees" had been freed on Saturday, and were among 27 senior prisoners judged to be eligible for release.
It may not be a democracy
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Courtney Massengale
I know it isn't our call and all that... but it also brings up some real juicy questions about what kind of democracy we're creating.
and it's not our call whether it is or not. "We're creating" smacks of a little arrogance and exemplifies one reason we are not well loved across the world. :wry:
That whatever government the Iraqis decide upon is slightly better than its predecessor should be adequate. Progress is progress. :cool: